[Community Composition of nirS-type Denitrifying Bacteria in the Waters of the Lower Reaches of the Fenhe River and Its Relationship with Inorganic Nitrogen].

In order to assess the waters of the lower reaches of the Fenhe River and the interaction with inorganic nitrogen, Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze samples based on the analysis of water quality indicators of nine rivers. The community structure and diversity of nirS-type denitrifying bacteria was diagnosed and statistical analysis was carried out to analyze the relationship between these communities and inorganic nitrogen content. The results show that the lower reaches of the Fenhe River are seriously polluted with inorganic nitrogen and the overall water quality standard was classified as V. The range of calculated Shannon index values was 3.36-7.54, indicating that the diversity of the denitrifying bacterial community is high in this basin. The relative abundance of the dominant genera represented 89.8% of the total community, which included Rhodobacter, Pseudomonas, and Thauera. The DO, pH, and inorganic nitrogen content were the main factors affecting the denitrifying bacterial community in the lower reaches of the Fenhe River. The dominant genus, Rhodobacter, and the genus Thauera were negatively correlated with NO3--N and NO2--N, and were positively correlated with NH4+-N. Pseudodomomas was the dominant genus in the Jishan and Hejin areas, and in the Fenhe River feeding into the Yellow River, and was negatively correlated with NO3--N and NO2--N but positively correlated with NH4+-N. The dominant genera of nirS-type denitrifying bacteria in the lower reaches of the Fenhe River promote denitrification and play a role in reducing the content of nitrate nitrogen in the water.

[Analysis of Nitrate Pollution Sources in the Rainy Season of the Lower Fenhe River].

Through the application of multi-isotope tracing, IsoSource model calculation, and microbial detection, the source of nitrate pollution in the lower reaches of the Fenhe River was screened, and the contribution rate of each source was calculated. The results showed that the main forms of nitrogen-containing substances in the lower reaches of the Fenhe River are NO3--N and NH4+-N and that the NO3--N content in 77.8% of the samples exceed the national drinking water standard. The abundance of denitrifying microorganisms in Jishan, Hejin, and the Fenhe River into the Yellow River is high, and many dominant bacteria participate in denitrification, resulting in nitrogen fractionation. The contents of δ15N-NO3- and δ18O-NO3- in the isotopes ranged from 5.30‰ to 12.90‰ and from 1.3‰ to 1.8‰, respectively. Manure and sewage were the main sources of nitrate in the Linfen section, accounting for 68% of the total nitrate source. In the Xiangfen section, the main sources of nitrate in the river were manure and sewage, at 37.5%, and agricultural fertilizer, at 37%. Agrochemicals are the main sources of nitrate in the Hejin section of the river, with a contribution ratio of 49.3%.

Ameliorative effects of Compound K and ginsenoside Rh1 on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common liver disease, which has no standard treatment available. Panax notoginseng saponines (PNS) have recently been reported to protect liver against hepatocyte injury induced by ethanol or high fat diet (HFD) in rats. Compound K and ginsenoside Rh1 are the main metabolites of PNS. In this study, we evaluated the effects of CK and Rh1 on NAFLD. Rats fed HFD showed significant elevations in liver function markers, lipids, glucose tolerance, and insulin resistance. Treatment with CK or Rh1 either alone or in combination dramatically ameliorated the liver function impairment induced by HFD. Histologically, CK and Rh1 significantly reversed HFD-induced hepatocyte injury and liver fibrosis. In vitro experiments demonstrated that treatment with CK or Rh1 alone or in combination markedly induced cell apoptosis, and inhibited cell proliferation and activation in HSC-T6 cells. Additionally, CK and Rh1, either alone or in combination, also repressed the expression of fibrotic factors TIMP-1, PC-I, and PC-III. Taken together, our results demonstrate that CK and Rh1 have positive effects on NAFLD via the anti-fibrotic and hepatoprotective activity.